2013 Chicago Sports4Unity

November 5, 2013

Building unity among teens of five parishes through sports.

In Chicago, Sports4Unity brought fifty youth from St. Clare of Montefalco, St. Gall, St Nicholas of Tolentine and Good Shepherd together with the Teens4Unity of St. Bruno and the Gen 3 of Chicago to develop their skills in athletics—and in peacemaking.

They began by agreeing to follow the Sports4Peace rules, based on Jesus’ commandment of mutual love:

Play hard and do your best! – commit yourself completely and joyfully

Play fair! – be honest with yourself and with others

Persevere!-don’t give up even when it is difficult

Consider the other!-respect everyone as each one is important in the game

Celebrate! – rejoice in the success of both your team and the other’s

Make a difference – big goals can only be achieved by working together

In the morning the parishes competed as teams in soccer, volleyball, basketball, dodge-ball, and kickball.

At noon, the games paused for “Time Out for Peace,” a minute of silent prayer held around the world every day at noon in response to Pope Francis’ appeal.

In the afternoon new mixed teams were created with members from different parishes. Roving “Ambassadors of Peace” awarded yellow bracelets to players who they observed following Sports4Peace rules. During the awards ceremony, there were medals for the teams with the highest scores in each event, and the two participants with the most yellow bracelets received a special prize.

The day closed with Mass. Even as they were leaving, many young people asked when the next Sports4Peace would be.